Indications: U.S. futures gain, with Egypt, earnings in focus

By Polya Lesova and Kate Gibson, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) â€" U.S. stock futures tallied modest gains Monday as investors weighed concerns over growing unrest in Egypt against optimism over relatively robust corporate earnings thus far.

Stock-index futures held near their session highs after the U.S. government said consumer spending and income rose in December, the former slightly more than analysts had expected. Read more about the latest economic reports.

“Much of today’s data is already known to the markets, thus muting its impact,” said Dan Greenhaus, chief economic strategist at Miller Tabak & Co.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average /quotes/comstock/21b!f:dj\h11 (DJH11 11,810, +35.00, +0.30%)  rose 38 points to 11,813, and S&P 500 futures /quotes/comstock/21m!f:sp\h11 (SPH11 1,279, +7.60, +0.60%)  gained 5.7 points to 1,277.2.

Nasdaq 100 futures /quotes/comstock/21m!f:nd\h11 (NDH11 2,273, +4.50, +0.20%)  advanced 7.5 points to 2,275.5.

On Friday, the blue-chip Dow index /quotes/comstock/10w!i:dji/delayed (DJIA 11,853, +28.84, +0.24%)  slumped 166.13 points, or 1.4%, marking its biggest decline since November, after investors were spooked by the unrest in Egypt.

Unrest in Egypt hits global markets

Antigovernment protests in Egypt have affected world financial markets, with U.S. stocks suffering the biggest one-day loss in six months.

Pressure on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, in power for decades, escalated during the weekend as protests against his rule continued on the streets of Cairo.

The situation in Egypt is “unsettling for sentiment generally,” said Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist at Brewin Dolphin in London.

“Who knows where it’s going to end and what contagion may result from it?” he said. “It’s clearly forcing up commodity prices, and that is not great news for inflation.”

However, “the downside [for equity markets] is fairly limited since we’ve had good economic news and good earnings results,” Lenhoff said.

Exxon earnings

Early corporate results Monday had oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp. /quotes/comstock/13*!xom (XOM 79.83, +0.84, +1.06%)  reporting a larger-than-anticipated jump in quarterly profit, while newspaper publisher Gannett Co. Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!gci (GCI 14.70, -0.50, -3.26%) reported a slight rise in fourth-quarter revenue. Read about Exxon’s results.

In commodity markets, oil futures rose 25 cents to $89.59 a barrel in electronic trading on Globex on concerns that crude supplies may be disrupted from the possible closure of the Suez Canal.

“While there is currently no evidence of imminent closure and Egyptian officials have publicly assured that traffic is running as normal, the proximity of the protests to the canal itself has raised market concerns about security,” said Ann Wyman, an analyst at Nomura, in a report.

“Moreover, the imposition of curfews, if sustained, could hamper the canal’s operations and lead to delays,” she wrote.

Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Egypt’s government bond ratings to Ba2 from Ba1, citing the sharp increase in political risk. Read more about Egypt’s downgrade.

The Egyptian stock exchange remained closed for a second day after equities plunged last week.

Equity markets in Asia and Europe posted losses. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Stock Average /quotes/comstock/64e!i:ni225 (JP:NI225 10,238, -122.42, -1.18%)   dropped 1.2%, and the Stoxx Europe 600 index /quotes/comstock/22c!sxxp (ST:STOXX600 280.49, +0.04, +0.01%)  declined 0.4% in intraday trading.

Polya Lesova is chief of MarketWatch’s London bureau. Kate Gibson is a reporter for MarketWatch, based in New York.

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NYSE Arca Morning Update - 08:30:00 ET

NYSE Arca Morning Update for Monday, Jan 31, 2011 :

STOCKS TRADING ON NYSE Arca AT A PRICE 15% OR MORE AWAY FROM
THE PREVIOUS TRADE DAY'S CONSOLIDATED CLOSE PRICE (AS OF 08:30:00 ET)

Stock Friday's Close Current Price Pct Change Current NYSE ARCA Vol
DEPO $6.23 $8.18 31.3% 328,093
NPSP $7.61 $9.80 28.8% 170,489

10 MOST ACTIVE STOCKS ON NYSE ARCA AS OF 08:30:00 ET

BASED ON DOLLARS TRADED: | BASED ON SHARES TRADED:
Stock $ Volume Price PctChg | Stock Share Vol Price PctChg
SPY $138091215 $128.13 0.3% | C 3,163,306 $4.74 0.4%
MEE $59,490,728 $64.56 12.8% | SPY 1,078,942 $128.13 0.3%
ANR $36,140,252 $54.79 ( 5.3%) | MEE 920,657 $64.56 12.8%
QQQQ $23,975,489 $55.92 0.3% | ANR 661,908 $54.79 ( 5.3%)
C $14,960,106 $4.74 0.4% | F 561,081 $16.30 0.3%
XOM $13,780,731 $80.05 1.3% | QQQQ 428,949 $55.92 0.3%
EWZ $13,347,977 $73.25 1.0% | DEPO 328,093 $8.18 31.3%
GLD $11,783,121 $129.52 ( 0.6%) | PSTI 243,974 $3.25 4.2%
AAPL $11,077,085 $337.79 0.5% | BAC 194,116 $13.72 0.8%
F $9,123,938 $16.30 0.3% | EWZ 182,842 $73.25 1.0%

Price changes may be affected by symbol splits and dividends.

Consolidated close price is the last print (excluding prints with trade
conditions) prior to 4PM ET.

This information is also updated on our web page every morning at 8:35ET:
http://www.tradearca.com/data/volume/daily_update.asp

This material is for informational purposes only.
NYSE Euronext and its affiliates ("NYSE Arca") are not soliciting any action based upon it.
This material is not to be construed as an offer to buy or sell any security in any jurisdiction where such an offer or solicitation would be illegal.
Any opinions expressed in this material are NYSE Arca opinions only.
NYSE Arca undertakes no obligation to update any of the information contained in this material in light of new information or future events.
THIS MATERIAL IS PROVIDED BY NYSE ARCA "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES EXPRESS OR IMPLIED.
NYSE ARCA DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY, TITLE, AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AS TO THIS MATERIAL.
IN NO EVENT SHALL NYSE ARCA BE LIABLE FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOST PROFITS, TRADING LOSSES AND DAMAGES THAT MAY RESULT FROM THE USE
OF THIS MATERIAL, ANY DELAY OR INTERRUPTION OF SERVICE OR OMISSIONS OR INACCURACIES IN THE MATERIAL) WITH RESPECT TO THIS MATERIAL.

Copyright [2011] by NYSE Euronext. All rights reserved. Reproduction and redistribution prohibited without prior express consent.

Indications: U.S. futures edge up, with Egypt, results in focus

By Polya Lesova, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) â€" U.S. futures edged higher Monday, as investors weighed concerns over growing unrest in Egypt against optimism over relatively robust corporate earnings thus far.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average /quotes/comstock/21b!f:dj\h11 (DJH11 11,775, 0.00, 0.00%)  rose 1 point to 11,776 and S&P 500 futures /quotes/comstock/21m!f:sp\h11 (SPH11 1,274, +2.90, +0.23%)  gained 2.40 points to 1,273.90.

Nasdaq 100 futures /quotes/comstock/21m!f:nd\h11 (NDH11 2,272, +4.00, +0.18%)  advanced 4.50 points to 2,272.50.

The blue-chip Dow index /quotes/comstock/10w!i:dji/delayed (DJIA 11,824, -166.13, -1.39%)  slumped 166.13 points, or 1.4%, on Friday, posting its biggest decline since November after investors were spooked by the unrest in Egypt.

Unrest in Egypt hits global financial markets

Anti-government protests in Egypt have affected world financial markets, with US stocks suffering the biggest one-day loss in six months. Video courtesy of Fox News

Pressure on President Hosni Mubarak, who has been in power for decades, escalated over the weekend as protests against his rule continued to rock the streets of Cairo.

The situation in Egypt is “unsettling for sentiment generally,” said Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist at Brewin Dolphin in London.

“Who knows where it’s going to end and what contagion may result from it,” he said. “It’s clearly forcing up commodity prices and that is not great news for inflation.”

However, “the downside [for equity markets] is fairly limited since we’ve had good economic news and good earnings results,” Lenhoff said.

Exxon earnings due

U.S. investors are awaiting earnings reports from several companies, including oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp. /quotes/comstock/13*!xom/quotes/nls/xom (XOM 78.99, -0.89, -1.11%)  and newspaper publisher Gannett Co. Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!gci/quotes/nls/gci (GCI 15.19, +0.16, +1.06%)  

Exxon is expected to report fourth-quarter earnings of $1.62 a share, according to a survey of analysts by FactSet Research.

On the economic front, data on personal income for December are due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time, to be followed by the Chicago PMI for January at 9:45 a.m. Eastern.

In the commodity markets, oil futures rose 13 cents to $89.47 a barrel in electronic trading on Globex on concerns that crude supplies may be disrupted from the possible closure of the Suez Canal.

“While there is currently no evidence of imminent closure and Egyptian officials have publicly assured that traffic is running as normal, the proximity of the protests to the canal itself has raised market concerns about security,” said Ann Wyman, an analyst at Nomura, in a report.

“Moreover, the imposition of curfews, if sustained, could hamper the canal’s operations and lead to delays,” she wrote.

Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Egypt’s government bond ratings to Ba2 from Ba1, citing the sharp increase in political risk.

The Egyptian stock exchange, meanwhile, remained closed for a second day after equities plunged last week.

Equity markets in Asia and Europe posted losses. In Japan, the Nikkei Stock Average dropped 1.2% and the Stoxx Europe 600 index /quotes/comstock/22c!sxxp (ST:STOXX600 279.09, -1.36, -0.48%)  declined 0.5% in intraday trading.

The dollar index /quotes/comstock/11j!i:dxy0 (DXY 78.05, -0.08, -0.10%) , which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of other major currencies, fell 0.2% to 78.010.

The euro gained 0.4% to $1.3656.

Polya Lesova is chief of MarketWatch’s London bureau.

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